Dow Corning introduces subsea wet insulation system

A new engineered thermal insulation solution has been developed by Dow Corning Corp. to help operators of subsea oil and gas facilities meet flow assurance needs. Formulated with in-depth silicone expertise, application experience and industry collaboration, the subsea wet insulation system employs a solid silicone system, unlike syntactic foams or silicone resins that contain glass microspheres.

Developed specifically for insulating high-pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) equipment used in deepwater production infrastructure and tiebacks, new Dow Corning XTI-1003 RTV Silicone Rubber Insulation potentially offers several advantages. Extensive and ongoing tests to meet producer specifications and applicator requirements indicate improvements such as: simplicity for lower risk; application ease; increased joint strength; excellent flexibility; thermal stability; and anticipated gains in field performance, reliability and service life.

Based on a room-temperature-curing (RTV) liquid silicone rubber (LSR) elastomer, the Dow Corning XTI-1003 RTV Silicone Rubber Insulation formulation is easy to mix and apply. It cures to a durable, flexible translucent rubber without potentially harmful by-products.